Sedona AZ (August 28, 2013) – The Sedona Police Department is currently seeking residents for the Citizens Police Academy. The academy is an 8-week course designed to provide the participants with a working knowledge and a better understanding of their police department. The purpose is to educate, inform and enlighten those attending about the department, its operations, and its personnel.
The academy is tuition-free and open to all Sedona residents or employees of a Sedona business. It is limited to twelve students and is on a first come, first serve basis. The upcoming academy begins on Wednesday, October 2, and finishes on Wednesday, November 20. Classes are scheduled each Wednesday evening from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. with one day (a Saturday) being spent at the firearms range.
Participants of the academy have varied backgrounds and life experiences. The classes have included retirees with a wide range of former occupations, local business owners as well as city employees.
In 2001, the Sedona Police Department won a Community Policing Award from the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP). The award recognized Sedona as having the best overall community policing programs in the country for departments serving a population of less than 20,000. The Citizens Police Academy was one of the many programs that impressed the judges of the competition.
Interested citizens in the upcoming classes are invited to call Sergeant Lucas Wilcoxson at 203-5008 or e-mail lwilcoxson@SedonaAZ.gov no later than Friday, September 27.
